its decision on the defense of marriage act this summer, the department of defense immediately began working on providing same benefits to all spouses regardless of sexual orientation. we did it because everyone who serves our country in uniform, everyone in this country, should receive all the benefits they deserve and they've earned and in accordance with the law. everyone's rights must be protected. this means that all spouses of service members are entitled to d.o.d. i.d. cards and the benefits that come with them. but several states today are refusing to issue these i.d. cards to same-sex spouses at national guard facilities. not only does this violate the state's obligations under federal law, but their actions have created hardship and inequality by forcing couples to travel long distances to federal military bases to obtain the i.d. cards they're entitled to. this is wrong. it causes division among our ranks and it furthers prejudice, which d.o.d. has fought to extinguish, as has the adl. today, i directed the chief of the national guard bureau, general frank grass, to make i